2009 Thunder A-Z: Jose Gil

Before 2009: I’m sure you were all just anxiously awaiting a look at Jose Gil, so here goes…Gil was signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent in 2003 as a 16-year-old out of Venezuela. After a 2004 stint in the Dominican Summer League, Gil would debut on North American soil in 2006, splitting time between Short Season-A Staten Island and Low-A Charleston. Gil would repeat that plan in 2007, but put together a much better combined season between the two, hitting 12 of his 17 career home runs and driving in 50 of his career 125 RBI that year.

Gil would see a lot of playing time in 2008, appearing in 73 games for High-A Tampa. He hit .240 with just one home run and 25 RBI and seemed to lose any steam he’d gathered in terms of making waves in the system.

2009: Gil essentially became an organizational catcher last season, spending time at Tampa, Trenton and Scranton. He started the season as Trenton’s third catcher, being used very sparingly. He was called up to Scranton — never appearing in a game — and then was quickly sent back down to Trenton. After just a handful of games with the Thunder (12), Gil was eventually sent back down to Tampa to get some actual playing time.

After 2009: It is hard to envision a role for Gil in 2010 that would be any different than the one he endured in 2009. A career .229 hitter in an organization that’s overflowing with prospects behind the plate, there would seem to be no realistic starting roles for him at any level of the farm system. It is entirely possible that Gil would be better served playing in another organization.